You guys are in and despite how poorly you're playing the Tourney can be weird. You never know when a bracket will open up for you. Not a great comparison since UofA's team that year had a lot more pure talent and better wins but the 08-09 team with Pennell was horrid down the stretch and took advantage of an easy draw to get to the Sweet 16 (where they were of course massacred by 40 points).
That being said, Herb Sendek really did screw things up for ASU. Not only is he just mediocre enough to keep his jobs all these years and perhaps going forward, he also blew the once in a couple generation opportunity to capitalize on turmoil in Tucson. Arizona Basketball is basically now set for the next decade or more, that won't make hiring someone in Tempe very easy knowing what he will have to be measured against.